Bound to the Stars
by JesterJosh
Summary: A Floran and an Apex escape prison and try to find their place in the universe. Will they make a home in the deepest reaches of space, or will they forever be bound to the stars? Rated M for blood, gore, some questionable scenes (no lemons), language, and awesomeness.


Bound to the Stars

Here it is: A Starbound fan fiction. No one saw it coming... except 3 of my friends and my bro. For those of you who don't know what Starbound is... Starbound is a game much like Terraria (Bassically 2d minecraft with more fighting and fantasy based elements, all 3 are great games) It's a 2d game where you select one of 6 races, soon to be seven as far as I know, of aliens and travel to randomly generated planets in an infinite universe. You can find randomly generated monsters on each planet, each one unique to it's planet. You can also find randomly generated cities and dungeons. Every race is customizable and has selective gender. I also love the fact that each race is based off of a culture in history. You can build items to summon bosses and reach new sectors and types of planets. That's enough talk about the game itself. It's a beautifully made game. It's still in beta, but you can get early access on steam for $15. I urge all readers to check it out. Onto a summary of all races. These are the direct summaries from the wiki and, even the wiki page is pretty sweet. I don't own anything.

Human  
Culture: Modern  
Humanity was a flourishing species with a high evolution rate and extremely hardy in terms of healing, recovery and endurance. They were the first race to engage in space travel, both for science and entertainment, but their limitations restricted them to their own solar system. Eventually they began to war amongst themselves more frequently, and with Earth's resources depleting, returned to the space race as each of the world's superpowers attempted to claim and colonize new planets. While in the midst of a particularly lengthy struggle to claim Mars, the humans observed a Beast From Beyond The Stars crash land on Earth. World leaders were heard to exclaim 'it's like something out of a sci-fi movie' and 'we'd better run for it' and 'maybe it's friendly, let's not be hasty'. (This person was later fired.)

Avian  
Culture: Ancient Mayan  
Birdlike  
Avian culture revolves around the worship of Kluex, the winged god of the Aether. Avians believe they were stripped of their wings as punishment for entering the mortal world and will only regain their wings in the afterlife should they achieve absolution through their history Avians have always been a primitive race, making little scientific progress. Avian numbers were beginning to dwindle when a superior race took pity and bestowed the gift of advanced technology upon them. This new found tech allowed the Avians to flourish and spread across the universe, building temples of worship as they go.  
Avian soldiers are trained from birth to be fierce warriors and will protect their temples at any cost. Avian weaponry may look primitive at first glance, but the incorporation of advanced technology makes them particularly formidable. Avian generals forge wings for themselves that function much like jetpacks.  
Though rare, Avians have been known to stray from their religious culture. Dubbed the Grounded, these Avians become outcasts and find solace amongst other races.

Hylotl  
Culture: Feudal Japan  
Fishlike  
The Hylotl, a proud amphibious species, were concerned with beauty. It's what drove them, the pursuit of perfection. Through years of living under the ocean, they developed empathy towards all other species, with a strong desire to reach out and save all living things. As such, they were pacifists and herbivores, content to simply live in peace until one day they were forced out of their homes, and off-world entirely, by the dreaded Floran menace.

Apex  
Culture: Ultramodern  
Apelike  
For millenia the Apex were close to human in appearance until breakthrough research into accelerated evolution lead to the creation of the "Vestigi-Evo Process". The VEP allowed the Apex to trade physical devolution for intellectual evolution.  
The Apex operate under a collectivist regime controlled by the MiniKnog (The Ministry of Scientific Progression). Each Apex dedicates his life to the survival and progression of the Apex as a whole. The nature of this regime allowed the VEP to be administered species wide in less than 10 years.  
The most honored members of Apex society are those chosen by the MiniKnog to donate their bodies to furthering the VEP. Those chosen for the experimentation process are rarely seen again, but their names are said to be inscribed on the wall of the chosen which sits deep within the Ministry.  
For a time the MiniKnog received criticism from several prominent Apex for what appeared to be a bias towards selecting only the poorest in society to be members of the chosen. This criticism was silenced however when the critics themselves were selected.  
There are whispers of a rebel group ready to denounce the MiniKnog and lead the Apex into revolution. But in Apex society discussion of dissension is punishable by death.

Floran  
Culture: Tribal  
Plantlike  
One would expect a race of sentient humanoid plants to be peaceful, nature-loving environmentalists – that presumption is what allows this hyper-aggressive tribal civilisation to thrive. Unwitting explorers are prey of choice to the carnivorous Florans, who frequently salvage or reverse engineer the technology they bring to enable their colonisation of the stars.  
Introducing space travel to the primitive Florans had the undesired effect of Floran colonies spanning across star systems, each with their own customs and levels of aggression. Despite this, individual Florans have been known to split apart from their society to lead their own lives in isolation or in the solace of other races, at the cost of being cut off from the collective and considered enemies of all flora for good.  
Though a unisex race, Floran culture values survival through reproduction and expansion over environmentalism or any perceived bond to Mother Nature. Cannibalism during funeral rituals and wars with rival factions are commonplace, though it remains unclear whether it's out of conservation or simple tradition.  
Their aggressive nature appears to be borne from a lack of a concept of non-plant life as opposed to outright contempt. Owing to their relatively young age as a species, this tenet dominates their culture and justifies their treatment of visiting races, though there are signs of some beginning to question this, implying that Floran individuals might not be inherently "evil" as previously thought.

Glitch  
Culture: Medieval  
Robotlike  
The Glitch were part of a program invented by an unknown race of enormous intelligence, they were built as a means of simulating the social and technological progress of a civilization.  
These experiments took place in a vast number of regions across the Universe, despite changing a plethora of variables each civilization eventually destroyed itself when its technological progression began to overtake its social progression. All but the Glitch.  
For reasons unknown a fault caused the Glitch to become stuck early in the simulation, where they now remain. The experiment long abandoned, the Glitch are unable to shake their Medieval values and beliefs. They're entirely unaware of their origin and are built to experience the feelings and desires of any other sentient organism.  
The Glitch reproduce by finding a mate and physically building a new Glitch together. Occasional faults in this process has caused Glitch to be produced free from the limitations of their programming. Entirely self aware and full of advanced knowledge, these Glitch are generally thought to be insane and are hunted, imprisoned and executed.  
Small numbers of faulty Glitch have managed to escape their homeworlds and set up villages amongst the Stars.

Novakids  
Culture: Wild West  
Starlike  
Forged aeons ago in the fusion furnaces of a now-dead star, the Novakids are a perfect example of nature's emergent beauty. These creatures, described by a human astronomer as "interstellar gas-bag people", have no known single origin point: that information is long lost, as the Novakids have little to no desire to record their history, or even pass it on to their offspring. Though they are (generally) more intelligent and intuitive than the "fleshy" races, their attention spans are lacking – this does not make them any less effective in combat, but has the effect of restricting their technology research (and any groundbreaking research is forgotten within a few generations).  
The force that drives the Novakids is contained within the brand on their faces. Charged with huge amounts of energy, these pieces of metal generate the hard plasma "shells" which stop their constituent gases from leaking – if a Novakid is depleted of his or her vital gases, the energy contained within their brand is instantly vented into the very fabric of space-time, leaving only a twisted metal symbol and a nearly undetectable warping of light around the area of death.  
Since the Novakids have a short memory (and attention span), diplomatic relations can be strained at times; because of their completely different composition to other lifeforms, Novakids are sometimes unable to grasp the nuances of interracial social interactions, and have thus attained a slightly dubious reputation amongst other races. In particular, an Avian diplomat reportedly described a Novakid he met as "dense", and elaborated upon his statement by mentioning that the Novakid in question had cheerily asked him if his god, Kluex, was real.

Holy Crap! I could fill a chapter with that, but this is all official knowledge, so it's not fanfiction. Yeah, lets get to that part.

Chapter 1: Dreams of Stars

In the deepest reaches of space in the Alpha sector in the system of Alpha Thanatos 8413 II on a large forest planet deep under the earth there was a prison. A prison that was built by Florans to hold dangerous Florans, and other people too.

Two Florans escorted an Apex with rifles as he frowned through his brown fur. The short hair on his head was spiked back. He was largely built and had very broad shoulders. He looked pretty strong but that hadn't saved him and he looked like he was trying to think of a way out of his situation right now. People died in Floran prisons, usually very gruesome and painful deaths. The piles of bones were not for show. The meat was usually not found on them at first.

As they reached a cell at the bottom of the prison, they stopped. "You survive maybe," one of the guards told him as the hit him into the cell. As the Apex raised his head, he did not like what he saw. "Enjoy company." The Apex slammed against the bars.

"Let me out!" he yelled. The guards laughed and began to walk away. "No! He'll kill me!" The Apex turned to face the Floran who was his roommate. He knew he wouldn't survive the night sharing a room with a Floran. The Floran seemed to care nothing for him until the guards were gone. He then got up off the floor and turned to face him.

The Floran had the usual green skin and hair made of vines flowing off his shoulders. His 'hair' was medium length and fell just below his shoulders in a shaggy mess. The Apex noticed his lean muscles and the numerous scars that covered his body as he brushed the vines away from his face. His face had the usual smile which looked like a snarl, but right now it looked like a frown if that was possible. His eyes were a teal color, strange, but not unheard of. The thing that caught the Apex off guard the most was the sadness in those eyes. These were not the eyes of a Floran.

"H-hello?" the Apex asked uncertainly with his voice that was slightly deeper. He was unsure what was happening right now.

The Floran's face brightened. He was relieved apparently. "Hello there," the Floran said in a much deeper voice. The Apex was shocked to hear a whole sentence leave a Floran's mouth. "I'm sure your shocked by my intelligence and I'm sure you have questions. For now however." The Floran sat down and gestured for the Apex to follow suit. "Let's start with our names. People call me Rose Blood."

The Apex finally sat down and responded in still slight shock, "I am called Spiral Face. Peolple think I'm crazy." When Rose just kept looking at him, he continued. "I guess my first question is... How did you get this civilized?"

"Well," Rose began looking at the roof and sitting back, "that is a very long tale my companion." Spiral leaned forward.

"I'm not going anywhere," Spiral said with a sad chuckle. On that final note, Rose began his story...  
-

I was born many planets away. It was a forest planet, much like this one. I was trained from birth to hunt and showed skill the instant they gave me a knife. I killed my instructor the second he turned his back. Ha ha. From a young age, I showed a stranger skill that made me an even better hunter. What did he call it? Um... Imagination, that was it. My ability to think around situations made me the most dangerous Floran in my clan shortly.

One day though, as I was in a hunting group days from the village, we were attacked. No one reacted fast enough, except me, to save them. We were attacked by a group of Hylotl. They've always hated Florans. I saw everyone die instantly to their rifles and shotguns, as I later learned what they were. I dropped my sword after dodging death and they were still ready to kill me. Figures though. I was the only one still alive and trust me, they had shot at me. One Hylotl stopped them though. He said a Floran willing to do something peaceful for even a moment was something rare. They took me back to their ship, unconscious of course. It took him a few days, but I finally got fed up and asked, sorta, why they didn't just kill me.

He told me that he wanted me to see something. I followed as there were guns pointed at me in my cell. He showed me a animal being born. I didn't know what I felt at that moment. He showed me something else. It was video of a flower going through it's life and spreading it's seeds. This one made it clear to me, but I only knew what to call it later. I loved life. I loved seeing it begin and go through it's... cycle. I later loved it so much during my stay with that Hylotl that I began to hate death. I still appreciated honor and good combat skills though. He returned me to my cell after that. I don't know why, but I didn't want to kill them anymore. I just wanted to see more. I couldn't tell him that of course. Sooner or later though, I just yelled at him as he passed by to show me more. I got this out of my outburst.  
-

Rose turned over his arm to show a scar where a bullet had entered his body. "So he taught you after that?" Spiral suggested. Rose nodded. "How did you end up here then?" Rose held up his hand and continued...  
-

After that, he began to show me more life and eventually, I asked the question that began my teaching. Why does he do that? This was when he started teaching me about culture, which led to fixing me language problem. During my teaching, I learned how much I loved to learn about things. It was interesting. I felt like I liked this way of living better than my old way. It was... easier. I met his family one day and went into town with him. I was unsure what would happen. They all were afraid of me, but as time went on, they came to see me as a neighbor.

I remember the last thing he taught me. I stared up that night at the stars and said one of those is my home. He told me that all of them were home to someone or something. I couldn't believe it at first. There were just so many stars in the sky. He then told me that maybe I'd like to explore them some day and find new life and culture. I wanted to do that. There was no end to the stars, no end to the life I could find and see.

Then it happened. I don't who or what, but something attacked the town. He came to me and brought me to a ship. He lied to me and said we were going to fight. As he turned on the ship and jumped off of it, he locked the door. He told me goodbye and ran back to the burning city. I could only sit there and watch the city fade from view, and then, the planet itself. I never saw him again. I sat in the ship waiting to see where it would take me. In the next hour I realized it took me back home.

I tried to rejoin my clan, but they knew something was worst day was the day I refused to kill something. I just couldn't anymore. I was tired of the death. They accused me of being a fish lover and called me Rose Blood.  
-

"That was when you became Rose Blood?" Spiral asked with surprise. "What was your name before that?"

"It's not important," Rose said looking away and sighing. "I won't be using my other name again."

"Why not?" Spiral asked as if it didn't make sense.

"That is a reason for another time," Rose said. He continued to the end of his story...  
-

They wanted to execute me, but that wasn't enough to my clan. They stuck knives through my hands and used them to nail me to a tree where I was born with my arms above my head. I felt my blood run down through my hair and drip off my body. That's why my hair is such a dark green. The next thing they did broke me. They executed my entire family in front of my eyes.

I had a little brother, if you want to call it that. They say we came from the same mother. He was only a few weeks old. Didn't even have his first knife yet. He had the same intellect as me, I could tell. He may have grown up to be nicer than me and smarter. Next was anyone I'd ever called ally. I snapped after that.

As I tried to escape, they lit the tree on fire and the ground where I was born, believing it to be tainted. I ripped my hands completely through the knives and fell into the flames. I rushed the Florans instantly, so the burns didn't scar me. In my blood lust, I killed my entire clan. Everyone died by my hand that day. The other clans heard of what I'd done and instead of killing me like my clan tried, they're tradition sent me here.  
-

"Wow," Spiral said stretching. "That's the most incredible story I've ever heard."

"Now how did you end up here, my simian friend?" Rose asked leaning forward now. Before Spiral could begin though, the lights went out. "Well, it's lights out I guess. We can talk more tomorrow." Spiral heard Rose climbing into the top bed bolted to the wall. Spiral climbed into bed and thought for a long time about his new friend before asking something.

"Hey Rose?" Spiral said seeing if he was still awake. Rose mumbled in acknowledgment, showing he was still awake. "What makes you keep going? What allows you to want to live right now?"

Rose thought about this question for a long while. Just before Spiral thought he wouldn't answer, he heard a quiet response. "I dream," Rose almost whispered in the darkness. Before Spiral could ask his next question, Rose answered it for him. "I dream of leaving all of this behind. I dream of a home where I can live in peace and no one fears me... Mostly though, I dream of the stars.

Notes: That was awesome! I can't wait to continue this story. I encourage everyone to check out the game.

Next time... Chapter 2: Escape


End file.
